An award winning music venue and working church in Islington has received a pledge of £37,500 from the Mayor of London Crowdfund Scheme.

Union Chapel, which is also home to The Margins Project for those homeless and in crisis in London, secured the funds to help save its old Sunday School Hall and provide the local community with a new space for arts and cultural uses.

The old Sunday School Hall is a hidden gem, but crumbling brickwork and outdated electrics and plumbing necessitate urgent renovation to make the space safe and accessible.

Frances Stirling, Fundraising and Development Manager said:

We would like to thank all our generous pledgers and congratulate our fellow London community causes, it’s an honour to be in such good company. This news comes the same week that we were named London’s Best Independent Entertainment Venue by SME News. It really is wonderful to see so much support for Union Chapel and all that goes on here.

The Hall is a treasure trove of books, papers and artefacts amassed since Union Chapel’s foundation in 1799. Stories range from tales of nonconformists and their 100 year journey to become part of the establishment to modern material documenting Union Chapel’s life as a venue.

In addition to repairing the hall, Union Chapel wishes to conserve this collection as an accessible archive. This project will create a mass of free skills-based activities from conservation and archive skills to training in powerful public speaking – a skill of the activist leaders who helped found Union Chapel.

Union Chapel now hopes to raise an additional £30,000 in pledges by 17th December. To support the project, visit: www.spacehive.com/unionchapelsundayschoolstories.